Mindfulness Walk

One of the best ways for me to find peace and inner calm is to be in nature and my favorite way to be in nature is walking in the woods.  I have two favorite parks in my area, one is great for a serious day hike and the other is my favorite place for what I call a mindfulness walk. 

My husband hates hiking with me.  He refers to these excursions as death hikes.  When I'm HIKING I like to move fast.  I want my blood pumping and my heart working.  I get my adrenaline up and I am happy.  I push myself and I don't like to stop.  Usually the goal of these hikes is a location. I get to where I'm going and I enjoy being there.  I will stop to enjoy the view or to appreciate a particularly tranquil spot, but peace is not the goal when I'm hiking.

When I'm searching for peace, I like to move slowly and focus on the experience.  I am mindful of what I hear, see, smell, and feel.  I breath deeply.  I might close my eyes to focus on the sensation of my skin or I might stop and hold my breath for a moment, so that I can hear only what is outside of me.  When I really slow down I notice the things that someone running the trails will miss. On these walks, I like to stop and really take in certain environments; sitting beside a stream or creek or watching an animal go about its business. When I'm there, I feel like I have escaped.

Today I spent a little over an hour at Line Creek.  What I arrived, the parking lot was nearly empty! Yay! Hurricane Irma pasted just two days ago, so there are downed trees and debris on the paths, but the trails were still open.  I could hear the creek almost as soon as I hit the trail.  The air was cool and birds were singing.  It was magical. 

from the entrance, looking towards the pond

I really wanted to hurry to the creek to see what the storm had done to it, but I intentionally slowed down.  Immediately, I began to notice things. 

tiny frog on the path

the leaves are beginning to change

"We walked the forest together, By a path of soundless moss and turf."

I love mushrooms

When I arrived at the creek, I sat and took it all in for quite a while.  The water was high, and moving quickly.  The sound was incredible.  I could smell the odd, wonderful, and slightly unpleasant smell of fresh water and fresh water creatures.  I breathed it in deeply.  I watched tiny dragonflies zip around and birds hop between branches.

a view of the creek

As I was still, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye.  I turned to find a tiny turtle.  He was the size of a large grape and his shell was dirty.  I laid on the rocks for a while and he actually came up and hid under the sweatshirt I was using for a pillow.  Before I left, I was able to get some pretty good pictures of him.

box turtle hatchling

 

This was pretty much the end of my walk because not too long after I came across two snakes, one of which jumped out of a tree right in front of me and I felt like that was a sign that it was time to go home.   Despite the snakes, this little adventure was so good for my soul.